Abstract
The growth characteristics of small fatigue cracks in room air, dry air and 1%NaCl solution were investigated for a high-strength steel, SNCM439. The growth rates of small fatigue cracks in room air accelerated slightly in contrast to long cracks, owing to the vapor in the air. The growth characteristics of small cracks in dry air were equivalent to those of long cracks. On the other hand, small cracks in a 1%NaCl solution showed a marked acceleration in fatigue crack growth as compared with long cracks. This was caused by the decrease of the threshold value of stress corrosion cracking (KISCC), that is, KISCC lowered with decreasing the crack length. The acceleration of small fatigue cracks in a 1%NaCl solution was predicted by the superposition method. Consequently, the predicted crack growth rates agreed well quantitatively with the experimental results.
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